After the battle ended, Julius and Natasha sheathed their weapons and walked away from the beast, which lay motionless on the ground. Its eyes were still fixed on them with a chilling glare.
They turned their backs without hesitation and made their way toward the group they had encountered earlier.
What was that...?
Ice was still crouched behind a tree. Even though he had collapsed to the ground, he couldn't bring himself to move closer to the creature. It might have been incapacitated, but it still radiated an overwhelming sense of danger.
He was scared. Plain and simple.
More than anything, he wanted to understand how they had done what they'd just done. Their sheer physical power wasn't something that could be achieved through training or sheer will alone. No, there was something more. Something deeper.
Especially considering what Julius had said earlier. If that wasn't even their real power, then what was?
Maybe it had to do with that strange force, the so-called House of Madness.
Eventually, seeing that Julius and Natasha were walking away, Ice clenched his jaw, bit his lip, and followed at a distance. He kept several paces behind them until they reached Ray and Celestia.
He didn't particularly mind Julius, but Natasha... there was something about her. Cold. Distant. After seeing her in action, she was more than a little terrifying.
After a few minutes of weaving through the undergrowth, they arrived. Ray was leaning against a tree, arms crossed, deep in thought. Celestia's expression softened as soon as she saw Ice. Relief flickered in her eyes; he was safe.
Julius sat down at the base of a tree and let out a long exhale.
"Sorry for the inconvenience," he said, brushing dust from his shoulder. "I'm ready for all your questions now."
Ray, still holding the supply bag, reached inside and began rummaging through it.
"You must be exhausted. Eat something first. We'll talk after. There's plenty of meat."
He wasn't just being polite. Ray genuinely wanted to foster some kind of camaraderie. They needed these two. Desperately.
He stood and handed each of them a piece of dried meat. Julius accepted it with a polite "thank you," while Natasha merely nodded.
Ice sat down with the others and silently waited for them to finish eating. While they rested, he took the opportunity to scan the forest again. He studied the trees, the ground, every minor detail he might've missed before.
At first, he'd seen this place as just a strange forest. No animals. Identical flora. But now... he wasn't so sure what to believe anymore.
And he wasn't alone in that uncertainty.
Ever since Julius and Natasha's arrival, Ray hadn't quite been himself, lost in thought. And Celestia, who had once been relaxed enough to sleep leaning against them, now kept her distance, clearly uneasy under their shadow.
They were going to need to change their approach entirely. This forest wasn't just strange. It was dangerous in ways they hadn't anticipated.
"I'm listening," Julius finally said, his voice serious.
Ice looked at him, then glanced down, sorting through the flood of questions swirling in his mind. There were a dozen things he wanted to ask, but only a few that truly mattered.
Above all, there was one question that bothered him: the beasts that were supposedly mirroring them.
Since their arrival, they had only encountered and fought a single monster, and even that one hadn't been targeting them specifically. If anything, it was they who had chosen to fight it. It hadn't mirrored anyone in the group, as far as he could tell.
Of course, the concept of "mirroring" was still too abstract for him. He had no idea how it was supposed to work or what signs to look for.
Just as he was about to speak, Ray cleared his throat and beat him to it.
"So far, we haven't encountered any of the beasts you mentioned. The ones that are supposedly looking for us."
Ice turned to him, stunned.
It's like he read my mind.
He was surprised Ray had asked exactly what he was thinking. It was reassuring, at least, to know he wasn't the only one concerned about it.
After all, what could be worse than a monster tailored to be your personal nemesis, one you couldn't kill because a stronger version would keep returning?
Julius's expression shifted into one of confusion.
"I don't understand. There should be three on your trail. You should've run into them no later than an hour after your arrival."
Celestia murmured under her breath, "Maybe it's because we're not from here."
Julius raised an eyebrow and frowned. "No one's from here, you know."
Celestia was about to respond when both Ice and Ray shot her a warning glance, but she didn't notice.
They had no intention of mentioning their time in the Paradoxal Double Moon. Not until they gathered more information about it. First, they needed to ask their own questions. Then they'd decide whether or not to reveal what they knew.
Celestia, unfortunately, still hadn't adopted the same level of caution.
"You mean the dark zone? With the twin moons... and the tower?"
Shit. She said it.
Suddenly, Julius's entire demeanor changed. His face twisted in shock, genuine, even tinged with fear.
Even Natasha, who had displayed no emotion, not even while facing the monster, failed to fully mask her surprise.
Celestia looked at them with quiet curiosity, while Ice and Ray remained on edge. If escaping that place turned out to be taboo, and Julius and Natasha decided to brand them as enemies...
Game over.
Then, Julius laughed. A bitter, almost defeated laugh, and muttered under his breath:
"So that's why she told us we'd meet again..."
Natasha had already regained her usual cold composure, while Julius turned toward the group with a faint smile.
"Well then... maybe there really is a way out for you after all."